TEHRAN, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The government of Georgia said it would welcome a measure to designate Iranian gas for the Nabucco gas pipeline for Europe, Iranian media report.
Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze arrived in Tehran to meet with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki to discuss bilateral ties.
Vashadze said the government in Tbilisi would support a measure to include Iranian gas in the Nabucco natural gas pipeline, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reports.
"We welcome Iran's cooperation and partnership in all regional projects and we have good cooperation (with Iran) in the energy field," he said.
The Western-backed Nabucco pipeline is part of an effort by Europe to break Russia's grip on the regional energy sector.
The project would bring Middle Eastern and Central Asian gas supplies to Europe along a route through Turkey. U.S. officials have made repeated assertions that Iran will not take part in the Nabucco gas project.
Despite political support for the project, Nabucco lacks firm commitments from potential supplier nations.
The European Union, however, secured agreements with Iraq for natural gas for the so-called Southern Corridor of transit networks that include Nabucco.
